Daily stress as a trigger of migraine attacks: results of thirteen single-subject studies.
A 6-month longitudinal study examined whether migraine attacks were preceded by or occurred on stressful days. Every evening 13 patients filled out a questionnaire assessing daily stress. Analyses on single-subject level tested whether attacks occurred more often than expected by chance 3, 2, or 1 day after or on day when stress scores were in the upper third of the subject's distribution. Increased stress was generally not found for Days 2 and 3 before an attack, but often for Day 1 and on the migraine day itself. The latter findings were also significant on a group level.
Köhler
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T
University of Hamburg, Federal Republic of Germany.
Haimerl
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C
D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008881:Migraine Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D012307:Risk Factors; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000150:complications*